The Valley’s high school teams, SAMS Grizzlies and Acwsalcta Thunder, the girls Junior All Native team and the Heiltsuk Nation (Bella Bella) girls’ team participated in a fun basketball tournament on February 25 and 26.
This was the first time SAMS has hosted a basketball tournament since our new gym was built. It was a great opportunity to get our whole community together for some high school basketball!
There were three games played on Friday and four on Saturday. On Friday, SAMS Grizzlies (girls) played the Acwsalcta Thunder (girls), with SAMS Grizzlies the victor with a close score of 44 over 38. SAMS Grizzlies (boys) played Acwsalcta Thunder (boys) with a score of 79 to 39. The last game of the day was the Junior All Native (girls) versus the Heilstuk Nation (girls) with a score of 53 to 31.
On Saturday, the Acwsalcta Thunder (girls) played the Heilstuk Nation (girls) with a final score of 36 to 45. The SAMS Junior Grizzlies (boys) played a close game with the Acwsalcta Junior Thunder (boys) with the final tally at 38 to 35. The SAMS Grizzlies (girls) then played Heiltsuk Nation (girls) with a final score of 55 to 41. The final game saw the SAMS Grizzlies (boys) versus the Acwsalcta Thunder (boys) with a final score of 82 to 73.
There was some excellent ball played over these two days and the attendance illustrated huge community support. These high school teams will be competing in Northern zones in February. The boys will be travelling to Dawson Creek and the girls to Fort St. James. Next year, the SAMS girls will be hosting Northern Zones and we won’t be taking the two-day bus ride each way (yeah!)
This mini tournament was a great practice for us, as there could be up to 12 teams from across the North travelling here next February. The games were live streamed from the gym into N.E.S so people wouldn’t miss any action while getting a snack.
Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time refereeing, scorekeeping, working the concession and the door, security, scheduling and organizing. These events would not be possible without all of you.
Thank you to everyone who respected our gym rules and took off their outside shoes before entering and by making use of N.E.S gym for getting a bite to eat from the concession. A big thanks to everyone who participated in this community event; the girl’s basketball team appreciates your support as they train for zones.